Name: Swiss Roll Vanilla Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: International
Ingredients: 120 g cake flour, homemade cake flour preferred; 1/8 tsp salt such as Himalayan pink salt; 6 eggs, separate egg yolks from egg whites; 3 tsp white vinegar; 60 g cane sugar, organic unrefined preferred; 70 g whole milk; 50 g avocado oil; 3 tsp vanilla extract; 275 g heavy cream, organic preferred; 30 g cane sugar, organic unrefined preferred; 1 tsp vanilla extract

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Swiss Roll featuring super soft vanilla sponge cake roll filled with homemade whipped cream is yummy and healthy. It is one of the most popular bakeries among Chinese communities.

Swiss Roll Fun Facts

Swiss Roll is essentially rolled sponge cake filled with whipped cream or jam. It is a traditional type of cake in Europe. Somehow along the way, it is introduced to southeast Asia and became extremely popular among the Chinese community.

Depending on the ingredients and the baking time, you can generally find two types of Swiss Roll. One version has a relatively dense cake and typically with a cake crust and the other version is super soft with no cake crust.

The super-soft version is especially well-liked among the southeast Asian community.

How to make a soft, yummy, and healthy Swiss Roll?

Tip No.1 is to use homemade cake flour for Swiss Roll

For the smooth texture, you will need cake flour. But wait, you don’t have to buy cake flour if you already have your organic all-purpose flour. It is actually super easy to turn the organic all-purpose flour into cake flour. Just steam for 10 minutes in a bamboo steamer.

Read here for a detailed guided recipe. Make a batch in advance and store it in an airtight large glass jar. With this at hand, you can make all sorts of delicious cakes, such as dark chocolate cake, red velvet cake, you name it.

Homemade Cake Flour {An old fashioned trick}

Tip No.2 is to use an electric hand mixer to blend the wet ingredients

An electric hand mixer is a very handy kitchen tool to blend wet ingredients well. It helps blend wet ingredients such as avocado oil, milk, and egg yolks evenly.

blend wet ingredients for cake using an eletric hand mixer

Tip No.3 is to beat egg whites until peak forms

Meringue is essentially beaten egg whites along with sugar until volume expands multiple times and peaks form.

When you fold this into a cake batter, it makes the cake batter extremely airy and smooth. This is another key for a super soft sponge cake roll.

Last but not least is to make a homemade whipped cream

For Swiss Roll filling, I like the filling to have a little bit more substantial texture. Therefore I use cane sugar and beat a bit longer.

Homemade Whipped Cream for Swiss Roll Filling

Swiss Roll Vanilla Recipe

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Additional Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Swiss Roll featuring super soft vanilla sponge cake roll filled with homemade whipped cream is yummy and healthy.

Ingredients

For Cake Roll:

120 g cake flour, homemade cake flour preferred
1/8 tsp salt such as Himalayan pink salt
6 eggs, separate egg yolks from egg whites
3 tsp white vinegar
60 g cane sugar, organic unrefined preferred
70 g whole milk
50 g avocado oil
3 tsp vanilla extract

For Whipped Cream Filling:

275 g heavy cream, organic preferred
30 g cane sugar, organic unrefined preferred
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Make Homemade Cake Flour In Advance:

It is straightforward to turn organic all-purpose flour into cake flour at home. Simply steam the flour for 10 minutes in a bamboo steamer. Read here for a detailed guided recipe.

Make Vanilla Sponge Cake:

Gather ingredients for the Cake Roll. Separate egg yolks from egg whites. Place egg whites in a stand mixer along with 3 tsp white vinegar. Place wet ingredients (egg yolks, oil, milk, and vanilla extract) in another large mixing bowl. Place cake flour and salt in a bowl. Add cane sugar to another bowl.
Make homemade meringue. Turn the Stand Mixer to medium-high, 6 out of 10 for instance, and set a timer for 6 minutes. Gradually add the sugar into the mixer in a circular motion after 2 minutes of beating. Stop the mixer once the volume has expanded multiple times and the peak has formed.
Use an electric hand mixer to blend the wet ingredients smoothly.
Sift in the dry ingredients using a fine mesh strainer or flour sifter.
Use a silicone spatula to fold the cake flour and salt into the wet ingredients mixture. Be patient and continue to use a fold motion until the whole thing blends in.
Add half of the homemade meringue and continue to use a fold motion to blend it with the cake batter in the mixing bowl.
Add the rest of the homemade meringue and continue to use the fold motion to blend everything together smoothly.
Line the baking pan (15.8 inches x 12 inches) with the unbleached parchment paper and pour the batter. Use a silicone spatula to smooth it out. Gently shake to let out the bubbles and further level the batter out.
Preheat the oven to 350F and bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes.
Turn the oven off and let the cake rest for 5 minutes and then remove the cake pan from the oven and let it cool to room temperature on a wired rack., about 1 hour.

Make Homemade Whipped Cream:

Add the heavy cream and 1 tsp vanilla extract to a clean and dry Stand Mixer Bowl. Turn on the mixer to medium-high, 6 out of 10 for instance, and set a timer for 6 minutes.
Gradually add the sugar to the mixer in a circular motion. Stop the mixer and use a silicone spatula to scrape the mixture off the wall of the mixing bowl if needed.
Turn off when the whipped cream forms. For the cake roll filling, you may want to over-beat the cream just a little bit to have a more substantial texture.

Assemble Swiss Roll:

Layer another nonbleached parchment paper over a large cutting board. Carefully flip the baking pan so that the cake is now sitting on the parchment paper.
Slowly peel the parchment paper off the cake.
Apply a layer of whipped cream over the sheet cake.
Starting from one end, start to roll the cake sheet. Use a rolling pin to push/drive the rolling process.
Put the cake roll in the refrigerator to chill before slicing and serving.
Enjoy a super soft and yummy Vanilla Swiss Roll!